Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-12-30

There we're 5000 people assembled in
the temple Of Dagoa- They had come 10
make sport of eyeless Samson, Thee
we're all ready for the entertainment. They
began to clap and pound. impatient fer
the amusement % begin, and they cried,
Eetch him out! fetch him out!n Wonder
he sl;nd Iold gent coming, led by
I'D of child into the very midh Of
Imple. At his frst appearance .there
goes up shout OF laughter and de,ision.
The blind old giant pretends he is tired.
md wants to rest hisneelf against tke pill
nrs OF the house; 60 he says tc TIE lad
who leads him, sShcw me where the main
pillars are." Thelad does SO. Then the
strong man puts .hi9 right hand on one
pillar and his left hand on anothsri pillar,
and, With the mightiest push that mortal
ever made, throws himself forward until
the whole house comes down in thunder
Gus crash, grinding the audionce like
grapes IN wine press. "And-so it came
to pass. when their hearts were caerry, that
they said, Call fpr Samson, that he NAV
make as sport. And they called for Sam
son out of the prison house; ard he made
them sport"
In other words: There are amuseme nts
that are destructive, and bring down dis
aster and death upon the heads of those
who practice them. While they laugh and
chear, they die. The 5000 who persisted
that day in GAIA are as nothing compared
with the tense thousands who have been
destroyed by sinful amusemerts.
But the other text l have. read implies
that there is c. lawful use of the world as
well az an unlawful abuse of it, and the
difference between the man Christian and
the man I'M Christian is, that in the former
case the man masters the world, while
III the latter case the world masters him.
For whom did God make this grand and
beautiful world? For whom this wonder
full expenditure of color, this gracefulness
of line, this mosaic of the ground, this
fresco Of the sky, this glowing fruitage of
orchard and vineyard, this full orchestra
of the tempest. in which the tree branches
flute, and the winds trumpet, and the
thunders drum, and all the splendors of
earth and sky come clashing their GYM
balss For whom did God spring the
arched bridge of colors resting upon but
tresses of broken storm clouds? For
whom did lie gather the upholstery of fire
around the window of the setting sun! For
all men; bat more especially for His own
dear children.
IF you buld a.large. mansion, and spread
| q great feast after it to celebrate the COM
pletion of the structure, do you allow
strangers to come in and occupy the place
kitchen or the barn or the fields? Oh, no.
You say: Il am very glad to see strangers
in my mansion, but my own sons and
F daughters shall have the first right there. {"
Now God has built this grand mansion of a
world. and He has spread a glorious feast
F in it; and while those who are strangers to
. His grace may come in, think that God
especially intends to give the advantage to
/ His own children, those who are the sons
and daughters of the Lord Almighty, those
who through grace can look up and say,
Abba, Father" Youcannot make me be-
lieve that God gives more advantage to the
world than He gives to the church bought
by His own blood. If, therefore, people of
the world have looked with dolorous SYM
pathy upon those who make profession of
religion, and have said, "Those new con-
verts are going down into privation and
into hardship. Why did not they tarry
little longer in the world, and have some of
its enjoyments and amusements and recre-
ations?" say to such men of the world,
"You are greatly mistaken" and before
get through will show that those people
who stay out of the kingdom of God have
the hardships and self denials, while those
who come in have the joys and the salts
faction.
This morning, in the name of the King
of Heaven and earth, / serve writ of
ejectment on oil the sinful and polluted
who have squatted on the domain of
earthly pleasure as though it belonged to
them, while claim. in behalf of the good
and the pure and the true, the eternal in
heritance which God has given them.
Hitherto, Christian philanthropists, cler-
ical and lay, have busted themselves chiefly
IN denouncing sinful recreations: but feel
we have no right to stand before men and
uo ~, ru1o so
for recreation amounting to positive neces-
sty, denouncing this cad that and the
other thing, when We do not propose to
give them something better. God helping
ne this morning, and with reference to my
last account, I shall enter upon sphere
not usual in sermonizing, but subject
which I think ought to be presented at this
time. propose now to lay before you
some of the recreations which nre not only
innocent, but positively helpful and adj
yantageous.
In the first place, I commend, among in
door recreations, music, vocal and instru-
mental. Among the first things created
was the bird, SO that the earth might have
music at the start. This world, which be-
gan with SO sweet serenade, is finally to
be demolished amidst the ringing blast of
the archangel's trumpet, SO that as there
was music ct the start, there shall be
music at the close. While this heavenly
art has often been dragged into the uses of
superstition and dissipation, we all know 1t
may be the means of high moral culture.
Oh, it is grand thing to have our chill
dren brought up amidst the sound of cul.
iured voices and amidst the melody of
musical instruments. There is in this art
an indescribable fascination for the house
hold. Let all those families who have the
means to afford it, have flute or harp, or
piano or organ. AS soon as the hand is
large enough to compass the keys, teach it
how to pick out the melody. Let all our
Young men try this heavenly art upon their
nature. Those who have one into 1t fully
nave found in it iilimitable recreation and
amusement. Dark days, stormy nights,
seasons of sickness, business disasters,
vii do little toward depressing the soul
which can gallop off over musical keys or
solr i'll iubiIant lay. 1t will cure pain. II
VIII rest fatigue. 1t will quell passion. 1t
I Will will raPlHlm dis